He next worked for New England Telephone and Telegraph until accepting a teaching position in English at William Hall High School in West Hartford, Connecticut (1932–38).
From 1938 to 1947, Gould headed the department of speech at Brookline High School in Massachusetts while working on his Ph.D. at Harvard University.
In 1954, Gould became president of Antioch College in Ohio, a position he held until he was appointed 2nd Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1959.
In July 1962, Gould became president of the Educational Broadcasting System in New York with the flagship station, WNDT-TV, channel 13.
[citation needed] In 1970, Gould retired from SUNY, became Chancellor Emeritus and served briefly as a director at McKinsey and Company.